The present invention relates to a messaging system for generating and sending messages to a particular recipient(s). More specifically, the invention provides for remotely generating messages to be sent to a recipient by utilizing a portable recording device, downloading the remotely generated message to a message transmission system, and automatically transmitting the remotely generated message to the intended recipient.
Currently, it is possible to compose and send messages to persons through the use of various communication systems. For example, voice mail systems and electronic mail systems may be used to compose and send messages to a particular intended recipient. It is also possible to remotely record a message, i.e., independent from the communication system that will be utilized to ultimately transmit the message, and to transfer the recorded message to the communication system for transmission to the intended recipient. A most basic example of this methodology would be to record a spoken message by using a tape recorder, call the intended recipient's telephone voice mail system, and play the tape recorded message over the telephone connection. In this manner, the sending party is able to remotely record a message for an intended recipient. The ability to remotely record a message has particular utility in the situation where the sending party wants to record a message while the subject of the message is still fresh in their mind and then later transmit the message to the intended recipient through use of a communication system.
There are drawbacks, however, with the currently known methods for transmitting a remotely recorded message to an intended recipient. Whereas the sending party is able to record the message remote from the communication system, and thus is able to concentrate on composing the message at any time that may be convenient to the sending party, the sending party must re-acquaint themselves with the message at some point in the future in order to transmit the message to the intended recipient. For example, the sending party may have to listen to the recorded message to remember who the intended recipient is and, even if they remember who the message is to be sent to, the sending party must take affirmative actions to transmit the message to the recipient. These affirmative acts may include looking up the e-mail or voice mail address of the intended recipient, establishing a connection between the sending party's message transmission system, e.g., personal computer or telephone, and the recipient's message receiving system, and transmitting the message to the intended recipient. The requirement for the sending party to take these affirmative actions in order to actually transmit the remotely recorded message to the intended recipient mitigates against the benefits obtainable from being able to remotely record messages for an intended recipient.
The ability to remotely record the message allows the sending party to expend effort on this task at a time when it is convenient to the sending party. To require the sending party to re-acquaint himself or herself with the whole issue of sending the message to the intended recipient at a later time in order to actually transmit the message to the intended recipient can be inconvenient and will certainly require additional time and effort.
Therefore, it would be desirable to provide a remote messaging system that would allow the sending party to remotely record a message for an intended recipient and to automatically transmit the remotely recorded message to the intended recipient upon downloading of the message to the communication transmission system without requiring any further actions from the sending party. In this manner, a sending party can compose a message at a convenient time and place and later transmit the message to the intended recipient simply by downloading the recorded message to the message transmission system.